Dad and Mom (Posterized and Digitally Modified)

Dad and Mom (Posterized and Digitally Modified)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This image began as a snapshot from my mom's old album, which begins with her first date with my dad in January of 1943.  He was stationed in Pueblo, and they met at a USO dance. My mother's album records these events in photos labeled with notes written in white ink on black paper.  That's how I know that this photo was taken on February 24, 1943, after they had gone to see "Road to Morocco" on a rare "day off" for my father.  That's also how I know that they went back to my mom's house afterward, and that soon afterward, another soldier dropped in unexpectedly.  (Did he come to see my mom? My aunt? Was he a friend of my dad? Perhaps less likely.)  Because there were several snapshots  of this event in the album, I know that there were four people around the kitchen table: my mom, my dad, my aunt, and the second soldier. My aunt must have taken this snapshot because she is the only one of the four not in the picture. From what my mom wrote in her album, I can tell that time alone together was hard to come by. My folks met in January, and married a few months later, fitting all that in before my dad was shipped overseas. So when I edited this snapshot today, I cropped out the cups and plates on the kitchen table, but I also cropped out the second soldier (though with regret). Then I used Painter to posterized the image and added some color overlay as well.  I like the idea that I have created a moment alone for the two faces whose features are now blended in my own. My parents were married on April 4, 1943, so this is a way that I can still celebrate their wedding anniversary.